Wolfgang Sühnholz Explained

Wolfgang Sühnholz
Height:1.85 m
Birth Date:14 September 1946
Birth Place:Berlin, Germany
Death Date:[1]
Death Place:Georgetown, Texas, United States
Position:Midfielder
Years1:1968–1970
Clubs1:Hertha Zehlendorf
Years2:1970–1971
Clubs2:Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
Caps2:32
Goals2:6
Years3:1971–1973
Clubs3:Bayern Munich
Caps3:25
Goals3:4
Years4:1974
Clubs4:Grasshoppers
Caps4:6
Goals4:0
Years5:1974–1975
Clubs5:Tennis Borussia Berlin
Caps5:8
Goals5:1
Years6:1975–1976
Clubs6:Boston Minutemen
Caps6:23
Goals6:8
Years7:1976
Clubs7:Toronto Metros-Croatia
Caps7:4
Goals7:0
Years8:1976
Clubs8:Vancouver Whitecaps
Caps8:2
Goals8:0
Years9:1977
Clubs9:Las Vegas Quicksilvers
Caps9:20
Goals9:4
Years10:1978
Clubs10:Los Angeles Aztecs
Caps10:14
Goals10:5
Years11:1978–1980
Clubs11:California Surf
Caps11:31
Goals11:3
Manageryears1:1987–1989
Managerclubs1:Austin Sockadillos (assistant)
Manageryears2:1989–1991
Managerclubs2:Austin Sockadillos
Manageryears3:1994–1997
Managerclubs3:Austin Lone Stars
Manageryears4:1997
Managerclubs4:United States U16 (assistant)
Manageryears5:1998–1999
Managerclubs5:Austin Lone Stars
Manageryears6:1999–2001
Managerclubs6:United States U20
Manageryears7:2008–2009
Managerclubs7:Austin Aztex U23

Wolfgang Sühnholz (14 September 1946 – 27 December 2019) was a German-American soccer coach and former player. He won in the 1971–72 Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and in 1976 the North-American Soccer Bowl with Toronto Metros-Croatia. Later he settled in the United States and worked as a coach.

Playing career

Initially he played for Hertha Zehlendorf with which he won the Regionalliga Berlin - part of the national second tier which was split up into five regional divisions - in 1969 and 1970. After this he joined first division side Rot-Weiss Oberhausen where he immediately established himself in the standard formation.

After narrowly avoiding relegation he transferred together with Franz Krauthausen to the 1971 runners-up of the national championship FC Bayern Munich. Again, he immediately became part of their standard formation, playing alongside the stars of that era like Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller. He played in 25 of the first 27 league matches of the side that went on to win in 1972 the third national championship in club history. In a cup match against 1. FC Köln in April 1972 he sustained a broken leg, which precluded him from almost two years.

Comeback attempts with Swiss first division side Grasshopper Club Zürich, where he played in March and April 1974 in six matches, albeit only one over 90 minutes, and Tennis Borussia Berlin, then a newcomer to the German first division, where he played in eight matches, thereof three over the full 90 minutes, between August and October of the same year, essentially failed. Notwithstanding, he scored a goal in his last match for the Berliners.

He came to the United States as a player and assistant coach in the NASL. He was named the 1976 Soccer Bowl MVP after capturing the title with Toronto Metros-Croatia. The following season (1977) he earned All-NASL First Team honors, joining legends who were on the same team that year, Pelé, Gordon Banks, George Best, and Franz Beckenbauer.[2]

Managerial career

Sühnholz was a national team coach for the U.S. Soccer Federation from 1996 to 2001; 1996–1999 as an assistant coach for the U-16 and U-20 Nationals Teams; head coach for the U.S. U-20 Men National Team from 1999 to 2001. While coaching for the U.S. Soccer he went to two World Cups and led his U-20 Teams to the World Cup in 2001 in Argentina. Since 2001 he was a head coach for the USYS ODP Region III, coaching the 86, 87, 88 and 89 boys' teams. A founder, along with Francisco Marcos, of the Austin Sockadillos, a team in the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, Sühnholz served as an assistant coach for the team from 1987 to 1989 when he replaced head coach Tony Simoes. He then coached the team until 1991. In 1994, he returned to the team, now known as the Austin Lone Stars of the USISL.[3] In May 1997, he was named an assistant coach with the United States U-16 men's national soccer team.[4] He returned to the Lone Stars in 1998.[5]

Sühnholz held a USSF "A" License.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A Tribute to Wolfgang Suhnholz . wolfgangsuhnholz.com . 31 December 2019 . Kevan . Kyba.
  2. Web site: All-League Teams . 12 May 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150811214750/http://national.soccerhall.org/history/NASL%20All-League%20Teams.htm . 11 August 2015 . dmy-all .
  3. Austin Lone Stars draw from Soccadillo roots Austin American-Statesman – Wednesday, 23 March 1994
  4. Lone Star coach to lead under-16s Austin American-Statesman (TX) – Tuesday, 13 May 1997
  5. Web site: Austin announces PDL coach . 26 February 2008 . 12 May 2009.